My Very First Woodworking Project

After many months of waiting and watching them work, the other editors finally turned me loose in the shop last week to tackle my first-ever woodworking project: a simple bookshelf. Well, “turned me loose” is a strong phrase – I had quite a bit of coaching using the router to cut rabbets, and wielding my new block plane (a gift from Popular Woodworking contributor Carl Bilderback) to flush the edges.

Somehow I managed to avoid nailing my hand to a board, and sans a few a kinks in the building process, I’m pretty darn proud of how it turned out. In fact, maybe I’ll celebrate by calling it an on-the-ground wine rack instead – reds on the left side, whites on the right and glasses on the shelf in the middle.

The piece will be featured in the December issue’s I Can Do That column, so keep an eye out. And while you’re at it, let me know what you think of my design in the comments.

6 thoughts on “My Very First Woodworking Project”

Tom, I like the design.
I would love to build a large bookcase like that.
However, in my opinion, the horizontal piece in the top square is not needed. Books can be stacked at a 45 degree angle and I like the look.
Good luck on future projects!

Very nice, Tom. You’re on your way, though you can’t call yourself a woodworker until you’ve bought your first (too expensive) hand tool. We all drink the koolaid eventually.
Keep us posted on your journey!